Weapons
In Battlefield Gallia, many weapons, both real and fictional, enter service in the nations partaking in the Second World War. There are weapons from both source materials, and fusions thereof. Axis Weapons Handguns *Walther P38: "The" pistol of the German army through the war. It fired the same 9mm Parabellum round as the likes of the PPK and MP-40. *ZM SP-21: Based off the old Mauser C96 pistol predating the First European War, the pistol fired the Imperial-made 7.62x25mm pistol round also developed from a Mauser design. For the sake of easily restocking Shocktroopers, the same round was used for the ZM MP-series weapons. Standard Rifles and Carbines *ZM Kar: From 1938-41, this Imperial weapon was "the" carbine of the Axis, finding service in the three main European powers (Italy, Germay and the Empire), and saw continued service well after the war's end. *Karbiner 25: Commonly given to Scouts, this bolt-action rifle was little more than the Kar 98k, only vastly shorter, nearly to SMG lengths. For the most part, it was overshadowed by the Karbiner 98k, but most of the parts were common between the two guns. *Karbiner 98 kurz: If the ZM Kar is the Axis' Carbine, the K98 is its rifle. Seeing servie with the three main powers and various lesser ones, the bolt-action rifle was based off the classic Mauser rifle design. *Gewehr 40/43/45 "German" Deutscher: Ditching the faux "Carbine" designation, the Gewehr 41 adopted a version of the action used on the Gallian series of rifles and carbines, creating a weapon nicknamed the German by Gallian troops. The various models were all able to have a small grenade launcher affixed under the muzzle of the barrel, on the bayonet lugs. Attachments *Gewehrgrenatewerfer 1940 "Berliner": Built on the "Randgrizer", the Gewhrgrenatewerfer ("Rifle Grenade Thrower") used a modified Steilhandgrenate 39 with the handle replaced with a friction ignition system, which armed the grenade as it left the 50mm-long barrel. It was often affixed via the bayonet lugs on weapons such as the Gewehr 41 and Karbiner 98k, though seeing it under the barrel of submachine guns and assault rifles in Wehrmacht service wasn't unthought of. *VB GGG: An interesting case of two minds thinking alike, the VB GGG and the Randgrizer were developed without contact with the other, but were identical save for very minute differences, mainly diameter. Variants *Schwergewehr 42: Based off the Gallian-A series, the SG42 mated the action common amoung Gallian rifles with the cooling system of an MG-42 machine gun, similar to how the A-series mated the Gallian with the Vickers. Given a then-experimental 15-round magazine, it was an oddity amoung German rifles in that it had somewhat poor accuracy, but was quite hard-hitting. It was originally developed as an anti-tank rifle, but when such weapons were obsolete due to enemy armor becoming too thick to penetrate, it was simply put back in the original 7.92x57mm class as the Gewehr 40. *Fallschirmsjager Gewehr (FjG) 41: a rifle built specifically for the paratroops, the FjG41 was the inverse of the Kar98k - a carbine with a rifle's designation. While only a centimeter longer than the Gallian-2, the FjG-41 was vastly lighter, due to lightweight aluminum parts and a fixed skeleton stock. It was the only non-automatic weapon to use the 7.92x33mm intermediate catrige, and was more accurate than many of its counterparts, but didn't hit near as hard. Rounds were often laced with a sedative or a toxin to help put enemy targets down. Light Automatic Weapons (Sub machine Guns, Assault and Battle rifles, etc.) *ZM MP: While often overlooked by popular culture and analysts alike, the ZM MP series was actually far more common, as its Erma Werke-produced counterpart, the MP-38/40, was only issued to regular German troops, and the ZM MP found service in the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmsjaeger, as well as the Italian and Spanish militaries. In spite of this, the only game to feature a ZM MP is Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, where it is erranomously identified as the ZMP-1943 (In reality, the model is the ZM MP-4), and is also falsely seen along side the StG-41, and the only movie is Saving Private Ryan, where the ZM MP-2 appears momentarilly in the hands of a German Sturmmann (Stormtrooper). *ZM STG: Inspired by its German counterpart, the ZM STG bore heavy resemblence to it as well, to the point of the sole mechanical difference being the round fired (7.92mm for the German MP-40S/StG-41 to 7.62mmE for the ZM STG). The only way to tell them apart is the ZM weapon's use of wooden parts in the foregrip, to the German StG's metal foregrip. *MP-38/40: The famous "Schmeisser" sub machine gun, the MP-40 is Popular Culture's Bad Guy gun, along with the AK-47 and SVD. While, for all intents and purposes, it was little more than a Erma Werke produced ZM MP internally, externally, it was a vastly different-looking weapon. Its presence among the most famous of the three main European Axis powers lead to it becoming "the" gun of the Axis in Pop Culture, often finding its way into movies and films that generally overlook the likes of the Beretta Model 38 and ZM MP, placing the well-known SMG into Imperial and Italian hands, inaccurately depicting all Axis nations as using the gun. Many late-war variants (the MP-40N, for Neue/New) had lugs under the barrel for attachments such as the Grenatewerfer 40 and Gewehrflammenwerfer, which also (if redundantly) allowed the gun to have a a bayonet. *MP-40S/StG-41: The first assault rifle ever produced, its main designation (StG-41) is actually the origin of the term "Assault Rifle" (Sturmgewehr in German). The earlier designation, MP-40S, was used to cover up its true nature (due to similarties of appearance with the Gallian T-MAG, a submachine gun), with the "S" affixed to the end indicating "Schwere (Heavy)". The name "Sturmgewehr 41" was chosen when Hitler test fired it, and is a common mark of German psychological warfare, combined with the year it entered service. *Beretta Model 38: A well-built Italian SMG which saw service alongside the MP-40 and ZM MP in both German and Imperial services, it was often issued to Elite troops, such as the Fallschirmsjaeger. Its rarity means it is often overlooked, replaced with the MP-40 in movies, films and sometimes even games. Attachments *VB FW: Made by the Von Bismarck arms manufacturer in the Empire, this was an underslung flamethrower normally seen on submachine guns and assault rifles in use by the Empire. Examples where also sent to other nations, such as Germany and Romania, though many of these nations used it as the basis of their own weapons. *Gewehrflammenwefer: A German-produced version of the VB FW built by various companies, it stripped off unneeded parts, and was often used under the forward grip of the StG-41 and MP-40. Due to the method used to attach the device to a larger weapon, it could be used under the barrel of rifles and carbines as well, though in all cases it was unpopular in Wehrmacht service, and was short-lived, as the Gewehrgrenatewerfer found its way under the barrels of StG-41's and MP-40s. Variants *MP-40Sk/kMP-43: Much shorter than the StG-41, the MP-40Sk ('k' standing for 'kurz') was never designated as a legitimate StG-41 variant, though it had similar internal mechanisms, it fired the 9x19mm Parabellum round. The main difference between it and the Mags M-4 was the use of more metal parts, and the removal of the forward grip (it was often fed the same 32-round magazine as the actual MP-40, which was used as a forward grip.) It was also simplified so that the Volksturm could use it without hindrence. It was eventually redesignated the kMP-43 (Kleine Maschinepistole 1943), and issued to the Fallschirmsjaeger. It would also sometimes be used to fire specialty rounds *MP-40k/G: Not to be confused with the above model, the MP-40k ("k" standing again for "kurz", or "short") was a model of the standard MP-40 that was shortened to near-pistol lengths and issued to police units, leading to its eventual redesignation as the MP-40G ("G" standing for "Gestopo"). *ZM MP B: to the ZM MP series as the kMP-43 was to the StG-41, the B-series of submachine guns where easily converted back and forth between the two models. It was a modified MP-series weapon to fire specialty rounds, often laced with a chemical. Heavy Automatic Weapons (Machine Guns, Automatic Cannons) *ZM MG40: Developed from an enlarged ZM MP 5, the MG40 (not to be confused with MP''40, which was a different weapon entirely) fired a rifle-caliber round and was air cooled. Its similarity of appearance with the MG42 lead to it being called "The Emperor's Buzzsaw" by American troops (after "Hitler's Buzzsaw"), though it fired much slower than the '42. *Ruhm: Originally built to combine the accuracy of a sniper rifle with the power of a heavy machine gun, the decision was made by Imperial command to redirect the gun into being a General Purpose Machine Gun, like its German counterparts, the MG-42 and MG-34. Many of the more decorative pieces seen were removed, and the small 20-round drum was replaced with a larger, and quite literal 75-round box - in the sense that it it was simply a steel box which contained a belt of ammunition. Like the MG-34 and -42, the Ruhm sometimes was used without the box, instead being fed via a loose, free-swinging belt. It was forgotten after the war's end, because of the similarity of appearance with the more commonly known (but still somewhat obscure) MG-34. It is often thought that no examples of the Ruhm exist in modern times, as, after the Empire's defeat at the hands of the Soviets in 1944, most examples were either adopted into Wehrmacht or Red Army service, and rechambered for the according rounds. Many of the 1,428 Soviet Ruhms disappeared onto the black market post-war; it is occasionally possible to spot terrorists training with the still fairly decorative weapons in videos which surface of training camps. The remaining 2,143 Ruhms that went to Germany were converted into MG-34's and -42's. *MG-42: AKA "Hitler's Buzzsaw", the MG-42 is a powerful machine gun often seen in games, movies and even comics. It's one of the most common Axis machine guns, second only to its predecessor, the MG-34. It is often considered the forerunner of the "General Purpose Machine Gun" classification, and was used to develop guns such as the M60 and M249/FN Minimi. It is generally considered to be the superior weapon to its Imperial counterpart, because of the fact it's the fastest firing single-barrel machine gun ever built (1,200-rpm to 800-rpm). *MG-34: The -42's developmental older brother, the MG-34 bears resemblence to the Imperial Ruhm, and in fact, the only statistical difference is the round used (7.62mmE for the Ruhm to 7.92mm Mauser for the -34). It is notable that the -34 was sometimes fired from the waist as an improvised assault rifle of sorts, though accuracy was predictably terrible. Unlike the Ruhm and -42, however, the -34 was used in just about every role asside from Infantry that one could put a machine gun into, mounted as tank armament, aircraft armament, and anti-aircraft, to name a few uses. *MMG-41: ''Mittle Maschiengewehr, 1941. A weapon intended for use as a squad support weapon, based off the T-MAG, firing the full power 7.92mm Mauser round, and modified to use a belt feed, with a clip for attaching boxes of otherwise loose-swining ammunition. It was used quite successfully in limited numbers in England and France during 1942-45, though it was ultimately too complex and unweildy of a weapon. In spite of similarities of appearance, it and the Kalashnikov-pattern weapons are unrelated. *MG-42S: The "Heavy" Machine gun of the German military, chambered for 12.7x94mm Theimer. It was used in much the same way as the American counterpart, the M2 Browing, and the Soviet counterpart, the DShK. It eventually replaced the original MG-42 in many roles, including the weapon on the commoner Hanomag models. Anti-Tank Weapons (Lances, AT Rifles, etc) *VB KL: While debate over whether "KL" stands for "Kleine Lanze" (Small Lance) or "Kurz Lanze" (Short Lance) still rages to this day, one thing is certain: it is clearly inspired by the German Panzerfaust, an interesting case of going "Full Circle" with lance development. The KL was vastly smaller and lighter than its PL cousin, and was sometimes given to assault troops to further the idea that they were "Jacks-of-all-trades." That idea was borrowed from the German military, as well. *VB PL: There are two things the idea of the AT lance is known for: killing tanks from close up, and utterly failing from afar. It was the PL's lack of range that caused interest in the Antitank Rifle to form in the Imperial Military, until it eventually became an oversized sniper rifle because the armor became simply "too thick". The PL, originally developed shortly after World War I, could destroy a T-34 easily, but the user had to be suicidally close. It also had unreasonably high recoil, as it was closed at the rear. *Panzerfaust: Germany was never a fan of the AT Lance. Their unwillingness to accept the Panzerfaust - which was a shrunken lance similar to the first AT weapons from World War I - is proof of this, as they actually attempted to modernize the Panzerbuesche. Ultimately, the short range, lightweight HEAT projecter was used to great effect in England and later the Soviet Union. *Panzerbusche 39: Germany never liked the idea of the AT lance, and intoduced the first anti-tank rifle in the closing of World War I to combat British tanks such as the Mark I. The idea was to simply fire a bullet fast enough that it punched through the armor of a tank, but it began to fail mid-1942 when Soviet tanks became too tough to fight with such weapons. *Panzerschreck: Adopted from the American M1 "Bazooka" tube lance, the Panzerschreck solved Germany's unwillingness to accept short-ranged lances by giving them the hitting power of the large spear shaped launchers and the accuracy of an AT rifle. Allied Weapons 'Standard Rifles and Carbines' *Gallian: A standard rifle developed by Gallia's only Arms Manufacturer, The National Arsanal. Created during WW1, it was issued to Gallian soliders and saw use in combat before the war's end. Fireing a 7.92mm Mauser round from a 5 round charger in an internal box magazine, as well as haveing the ability to have a 25mm underbarrel 'Randgrizer' Gernade Launcher, it is a well rounded carbine, though due to the annexation of Gallia, it is now mostly seen in the Resistance Forces as well as many Gallian soliders in service with the Germans. In popular culture, the rifle is completely overshadowed by its German development, the Gewehr 40, and its American counterpart, the M4 Johnson. It was declared obsolete in 1943, replaced entirely by the G40. *M4 Johnson rifle: The M4 rifle is an American short-recoil operated semi-automatic rifle not unlike the SVT-40 and Gallian series. It competed successfully against the now-forgotten M1922 Garand, though the bayonet lugs were modified to allow use of the M8 Grenade Launcher underneath the barrel. It has since become "the" good guy gun, to the MP40's "bad guy gun". *SVT-40: The Allies are no Carbine users - the prevelance of rifle-length weapons amid US Army and Red Army arsenals points that out. Firing a round similar to the ZM Kar's, this Tokarev rifle is capible of tearing apart the heavy body armor used by the Empire, leading to the ditching of the knight-like armor. *Lee-Enfield SMLE: One of the few bolt-action rifles to see Allied service, the Lee-Enfield was the main weapon used by the British against the likes of the Karbiner 98k, until Britain was invaded by the Nazis in September 1940, falling shortly before the end of November 1940, though many were re-chambered into the 7.92mm Mauser round, and served as sniper rifles alongside Karbiner 98k's and GSR-series weapons. *Mosin-Nagant: The latest bolt-action rifle to see use as a non-marksman weapon, the Nagant fires the same round as the SVT-40, examples exist of variants chambered in Imperial and German rounds. It was removed from front-line service for the normal army and re-issued to militias about the Soviet Union, and the numbers it was produced in ensured its place as a popular civilian weapon after the war. *GSR: Oddly incorperating the English term for a sniper rifle, the GSR was just that - a Sniper Rifle. Many of the internal mechanisms were copied from Mauser designs. Attachments *Randgrizer: The underslung 25mm grenade launcher used by the Gallians underneath the Gallian series of rifles and carbines. It was used directly in the development of the German "Berliner" grenade launcher. *M8 Grenade Launcher: Affixed to bayonet lugs underneath the M4 Johnson, the M8 was quite radically different from launchers prior to it. Instead of firing a priorly developed stick-shaped hand grenade, of which the US had none (instead using the round Mk. 2 "Pineapple"), the M8 had a somewhat pill-shaped grenade developed for it, making the round the direct percursor to the round used in the M12 fit under the likes of the Stoner M-17 during Veitnam. Light Automatic weapons (Submachine Guns, Assault Rifles, etc.) *Mags M-series: Forming the basis of what would later be the MP-40S/StG-41, the Mags M3 also saw service as the MP-M3(G) in the German military, the similarity of the MP-40's round and magazine often ensuring the gun would end up with the long 40-round box clip of its German counterparts. *T-MAG Series: *M50 Reising: The submachine gun of the United States military as a whole, it fires the powerful .45 ACP round also used in the Colt M1911 and the once-popular M1928 Thompson SMG. Though this design was originally intended for the US Navy, it saw use in both North Africa and England once the United States entered World War II, and later became famous. *PPSh-41: *PPD-40: Anti-Tank Weapons (Lances, AT Rifles, etc) *M1 Bazooka/M9 Super Bazooka: A novel idea at the time, and a weapon that would influance ant-tank weapons well into the 21st Century, the M1 Bazooka was the world's first proper "tube lance". It was completely recoilless, thanks to being open on both ends, unlike its spear-shaped precursors. It also fully contained the 84mm (and later 90mm) warhead inside the tube itself. The largest drawback was the backblast, which could kick up dust, giving away the firer's position, and burn anyone unfortunate to be caught in it. *PATSS: "PATSS" was a British lance-type weapon (the name stands for Projector, Anti-Tank, Spear Shaped), though it wasn't finished before the Germans successfully took Britain. It would have used a 30mm wide tube with a 120mm charge on the leading end. *Boys AT Rifle: The common understanding in the relationship between "Lance" and "AT Rifle" is that AT rifles are generally quicker to reload, more accurate, and more rounds can be carried, but they don't pack the punch a lance does. The Boys is no acception, and once the idea of an antitank rifle was dead, it was merely adopted into a sniper rifle of sorts, replacing the iron sights with a scope, becoming a similar weapon to the M82 Barret. *PTRD: A deceptively simple Soviet weapon, the PTRD kept terrorizing German tanks long after the PzB and Boys had went out of style, thanks to a near cannon-like 14.5mm round, which let it break the armor that covered the treads of many German tanks, including the infamous King Tiger, thus immoilizing the machines and letting harder-hitting 85mm and 122mm guns get a good bead on them. *PTRS: One of the few examples of an anti-tank rifle that was semi-automatic, the PTRS was one of the compelling factors behind the idea of the Schweregewehr, and like the PTRD kept destroying tanks even after other AT rifles couldn't break the armor.